


I Had No Chance to Prepare, I Couldn't See You Coming

by liveinfury



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Anal Sex, Coming Out, Friends to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-04
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-08-13 01:51:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7957750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liveinfury/pseuds/liveinfury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Close your mouth, you look like an idiot,” Killer says, shoving Kent. </p><p>Kent tears his gaze away from Dillon and looks at Killer. “Huh?”</p><p>“Oh, no, Parse,” Killer says, shaking his head. “This is not going to end well.”</p><p>“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kent grumbles.</p><p>(or Kent Parson finds love and gets his happily ever after)</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Had No Chance to Prepare, I Couldn't See You Coming

**Author's Note:**

> title taken from White Ferrari by Frank Ocean.
> 
> For visual reference, Dillon Jones looks like [this](http://www3.pictures.zimbio.com/bg/Ben+Robson+ItFrMw2boRym.jpg)

**LV acquires ARI D. Dillon Jones.**

That’s the notification Kent gets on his phone when he’s out on a run. It’s significant because it changes his life.

Kent isn’t too surprised that the Aces went out and spent some cash on a defenseman. They are in dire need of defensive talent and have some cap space to sign someone whose contract may be up. Kent is surprised, however, by who they chose. The idea of his team acquiring Jones didn’t even cross his mind throughout the offseason. He’s usually up to date with rumors concerning his team and potential trade or signings, but somehow this one never occurred to him.

He doesn’t know much about Dillon Jones besides the fact that he’s talented and hot. Unbelievably hot. Jones has been in the league a few years now as the Coyote’s second pairing defenseman. He’s probably good enough to be a top pairing guy on the Aces. 

Kent cuts his run short and after a quick shower, he does some research. Dillon Jones is 28 years old, he was drafted the year before Kent was, and he chose to attend Boston University for two years before signing his rookie contract with the Coyotes. After that, he played for their AHL team for a season and a half before he was called up to the show. He played a full year with the Coyotes and then broke his foot which side lined him another year. He played another three full seasons in which he became a breakout defenseman in the league. Talks with the Coyotes about a contract extension didn’t seem to be making any headway this year so he was up for grabs on July 1. 

Kent meets Dillon at Killer’s a month later. Killer’s holding his annual summer barbeque where he invites any of their teammates that are hanging around in Vegas and their families.

Garret Killian’s the oldest guy on the team and he’s confided in Kent that he’s going to retire at the end of the summer. He’s been Kent’s winger since his first game on the Aces, so this season is going to be a real adjustment for Kent. He lived with the Killians during his rookie year. Killer had been a great mentor and role model during his career. 

Killer’s also the only one on the team who knows that Kent’s gay. Kent had a rocky rookie year with Jack Zimmermann being front and center in his mind for the better part of it, and with all the stress of debuting as the first draft pick. There was no avoiding Killer’s questioning glares at home so he came clean, he took a risk and told Killer everything on his mind and Killer responded by hugging him tightly for a long time. 

He’s really going to miss those hugs.

“Put yourself to use, Kenny,” Killer’s wife, Sasha, says as she swats him on the back of the head. “Go help Garret with the burgers.”

Kent glares at Sasha but pushes himself off the lounge chair and saunters over to the grill.

Killer’s catching Kent up on the rest of his summer plans when the back gate opens and Dillon Jones walks through.

Kent hasn’t seen Dillon in person since they last played against one another a few months ago. Since that time, Dillon’s grown out his dark brown hair to his shoulders and a thick beard takes up half of his handsome face. Despite all of this, his piercing blues eyes are what Kent notices first when he looks over at the new guest.

Sasha immediately goes over to introduce herself and drag him further into the yard.

“Close your mouth, you look like an idiot,” Killer says, shoving Kent. 

Kent tears his gaze away from Dillon and looks at Killer. “Huh?”

“Oh, no, Parse,” Killer says, shaking his head. “This is not going to end well.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kent grumbles. 

“I’m not gonna tell you what to do, you’re an adult,” Killer says. “But just be careful, alright?”

“There’s nothing to be careful about because I’m not going to do anything,” Kent says, crossing his arms. “There’s nothing to do, nothing, I don’t-nothing.”

“Sure, just don’t come running to me when he breaks your heart,” Killer says as he opens up the grill and loads the finished burgers onto a plate.

“He’s not going to break my heart, Jesus, Killer,” Kent hisses. “You’re so dramatic, I was just looking.”

“That’s how it starts,” Killer sighs and looks off into the distance as if he’s reminiscing about his single days. “Trust me.”

Kent sees Dillon and Sasha walking over to them. “Shut up, shut up,” Kent whispers. “Not a word, okay?”

“Hey, Jones!” Killer says, turning around and pulling him into a bro hug. “I’m Garret, the boys call me Killer, thanks for coming!” 

Dillon grins. “’Course, thanks for inviting me, you’ve got a great place, man.”

“Thanks,” Killer says, looking around his backyard. “Listen, I’d love to introduce you to the rest of the team and show you around and stuff, but I’m on grill duty.”

“Oh, no worries,” Dillon says with a smile.

“Kenny can do it,” Sasha says, grinning at Kent. “Right?”

Kent takes a deep breath and tries to settle into friendly captain mode. “Yeah, sure, I’m Kent,” he says, stretching out a hand for Dillon to take. “But I mean you probably already knew that, not that I’m like famous or something, I just mean I’m the captain so-um…”

Kent flushes in embarrassment over his words. He’s never been this flustered before, it’s like his body is betraying him.

Dillon smiles wider and shakes his hand. “Yeah, cap, I know who you are. They call you Parse right?”

“Yeah, Parse,” Kent confirms. “I’m gonna take a wild guess and say it’s Jonesy for you?”

Dillon chuckles and oh no, that’s not a sounds that’s going to leave Kent’s brain for a while. 

“Yeah, hockey players can’t be too bothered, eh?”

Kent smiles. “Nah, it makes things easier to remember I guess. C’mon, I’ll show you around.”

Kent leads him towards a group of people gathered around the pool. When he looks back over his shoulder, Killer and Sasha start making kissy faces at him.

After Kent introduces Dillon to everyone, he steers clear from him the rest of the night. Avoidance is a tactic that almost always works. He doesn’t know if he can face another conversation where he fumbles his words like an idiot in front of him. Kent needs some space to gather his thoughts and his stupid feelings.

For all he knows, Dillon can turn out to be a total douche-nozzle. Kent’s just reacting like this because the guy is attractive. He knows once he gets to know him, he’ll get over it. But in order to get to know him, he has to talk to him. 

Players have come and gone on the Aces for years. There’s been a few that have caught Kent’s eye in the past, but that always quickly dissipates. He hopes that’s the case here, but probably not. It’s pretty apparent that no one’s caused this type of reaction out of him since Jack Zimmermann. It’s not looking too good.

Kent’s hanging out inside the house watching a preseason football game with a few of the guys when Dillon plops down on the couch next to him. There isn’t much room so he squeezes into the spot causing his thighs to push against Kent’s.

Something happens in the game because everyone groans, but Kent can’t concentrate. His eyes are locked at the spot where his skin touches Dillon’s and he feels the air get sucked out of his lungs.

Not being able to handle it anymore, Kent jumps up and mutters something about the bathroom as he hightails out of the Killians’ living room. 

It happens again when he’s outside chasing around a few kids. He’s got a good game of tag going with them when Dillon stomps over playfully and makes monster noises. The kids all squeal in delightful terror and run away faster. They both chase after them and after catching a few they stand to the side to watch.

“We make a good team,” Dillon pants. He’s bent over, hands on his knees, in exhaustion.

Kent lets out a croak of acknowledgement. “Might want to check in with a trainer if chasing a few five year-olds gets you this out of breath.”

Dillon looks up at Kent from his bent over position and grins. “Will do, cap.”

“I gotta,” Kent mutters, pointing at the house. “Beer.”

He briskly walks away from Dillon and tries to ignore the way his heart keeps stuttering around him. 

There’s no one in the kitchen so he grabs a beer from the fridge and steals a moment to himself. “Deep breaths, Kent,” he tells himself. 

A few minutes later, Dillon walks into the kitchen with a frown. “Did I do something?” he asks.

“What?”

“Did I do something before?” Dillon repeats as he leans against the counter, opposite Kent. “Either on the ice or off? Did I say something that might explain why you’re avoiding me?”

“I-no?” Kent asks more than answers.

“So then what’s up?” Dillon asks, crossing his hands on his chest.

Kent sighs. “Nothing,” he mumbles.

“Well, clearly it’s not nothing if it’s got you leaving whenever I come anywhere near you all night.”

“I’m not, I-I’m not,” Kent lies. “You just keep catching me at bad times.”

Dillon doesn’t look convinced but thankfully doesn’t keep pushing. “Alright, but if you do have a problem, whatever it may be, I’d like it if you would talk to me about it. I’d rather not start the season off with my captain hating me.”

“I don’t hate you, Jonesy,” Kent says but doesn’t add the far from it that his minds supplies.

“Good,” Dillon says. His eyebrows unfurrow and his smile returns. “I don’t hate you either, Parse,” he says with lingering eyes.

Kent blushes and stares at Dillon’s retreating back. He’s left wondering whether his mind was playing tricks on him or if Dillon just checked him out.

*

Kent is close with a handful of his teammates. Besides Killer, he’s also good friends with the Aces’ goalie, Abes. Abes is an oddball, as most goalies are, but he’s also hilarious and Kent appreciates that about him when he needs a good laugh. 

He’s also pretty close with both of the alternate captains, Rother and Coals. Abes, Rother, and Coals have been on the team for almost as long as Kent has been. They’re the last remaining players on the current team that were also on the team that won the Cup a few years back. It’s a special bond that they all share.

Kent used to go out with the guys a lot, but in the past few years, they’ve all settled down with wives and kids. Kent could chill with the rookies, but the difference in maturity levels hinders him from doing so too often.

Now that Dillon is here, he’s finally got someone to hang out with that’s his age and doesn’t have any other priorities. It also helps that he’s moved into the same apartment building as Kent. 

Dillon moves in late August and it becomes a thing where he and Kent lounge around in each other’s apartments from time to time. Seeing Dillon so often gives Kent more opportunities to calm himself down around him. 

By the time the season starts up in October, Kent can speak full and complex sentences around Dillon and he starts to look forward to their interactions rather than dreading them for fear of embarrassing himself. 

Dillon quickly becomes his best friend.

One of Kent’s favorite things they do together is eat take out while judging the shit out of any and all Chopped contestants as they get progressively drunk. 

They’re in Kent’s apartment one night eating pizza on his couch and watching one of the contestants completely leave out a basket item. They may have had a little too much to drink considering the fits of giggles they keep succumbing to. 

Kent’s slumped down on his couch and when the most recent bout of giggles come to a stop, he glances over at Dillon and catches him staring back.

Kent narrows his eyes. “What?”

Dillon shakes his head lightly but maintains eye contact. “Nothing,” he says, almost fondly.

“Freak,” Kent mutters as he leans over and shoves a hand into Dillon’s face. His beard feels rough against his hands and Kent suppresses a shudder.

“Your mom’s a freak,” Dillon says, words muffled by Kent’s palm. 

Kent suddenly feels Dillon lick at his hand. The warm, wet sensation causes him to yank his hand back in what he hopes passes as disgust when it’s really a feeling of shock and desire.

“Gross,” Kent says. “Fuck off.”

This obviously, entices another round of giggles.

*

The Aces start the season off a little rocky but seem to get into the groove of things come November. They’re starting to look better than they have in years. 

Kent’s excited about hockey again. With Killer retiring, he thought there would be an adjustment period but his left winger, Rother, is still as good as ever and the new call up rookie, Leech, is doing a great job taking over Killer’s spot.

Killer still lives in Las Vegas, but the Killians have been traveling a lot since the announcement of his retirement. Kent tries to visit as much as he can, it’s nice to catch up with Killer on things not concerning hockey for once.

The Aces are playing the Kings on the second week of November when Kent’s out on the ice on a powerplay with Dillon. Thirty seconds in, Kent scores off of a pass from Dillon.

After Kent does his celly, he’s instantly surrounded by the guys that were on the ice with him. He’s showered in pats and nice words. Dillon, in particular, crowds him into the boards and yells, “What a fucking shot, baby!”

Kent blushes like crazy at the pet name. It doesn’t mean anything to Dillon or hockey players in general, the word ‘baby’ gets tossed around on the ice like crazy, but it still gets his toes to curl in his tight skates.

He scores again halfway through the second period. He skates over to the bench and squeezes into an empty spot next to Dillon who bumps helmets with Kent in celebration and throws a wink in his direction before hoping over the boards for his shift. 

Because Kent Parson is still Kent Parson, even at age 27, he scores again, making it his first hat-trick of the season. He leisurely skates back to the bench as they all wait for the ice crew to pick up the stray hats being thrown by fans. Dillon immediately tackles him into a hug once he’s within arm’s reach and places a loud, smacking kiss on his helmet.

Hockey players are known to be affectionate, it’s a thing. But Kent’s never gotten a reaction like this out of any of his teammates before and this is just a regular season game in November. Even his game winning goal that secured the team the Stanley Cup a few years ago didn’t garner this reaction.

But Kent’s not complaining. It’s a nice feeling, a very very nice feeling.

*

Jack Zimmermann comes out in the beginning of December. It becomes the only thing the hockey world can talk about for weeks. He comes out through a Player’s Tribune article. In the article, he talks a lot about what it was like for him growing up and being Bad Bob’s son. He speaks of all the pressure and his overdose. He mentions his recovery and his times at Samwell. He ends the article stating how happy he is now and how he’d like to thank his family, friends, and incredibly supportive boyfriend.

The Falconers PR team release a statement when the article comes out, basically saying how the team and the organization as a whole is behind Jack and how his coming out doesn’t change anything.

Jack calls Kent a few days before all of this goes public.

“I just want to let you know, that’s all,” Jack says after dropping the bomb.

“Oh, well,” Kent struggles for words. “That’s good, I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you, Kenny,” he says, softly. “That means a lot to me.”

“Of course, Zimms,” Kent says. “But I gotta ask, does this have anything to do with Bittle?”

Jack sighs. “Not entirely. I mean I’m not coming out for him or anything, it’s all for me. I just want to be able to hold the person I love’s hand when we go for a walk. Is that too much to ask for?”

Kent smiles. “No, it’s not.”

“The team already knows and they haven’t been any different towards me besides more chirps about Bits. I think the scariest part is over.”

“Probably, the people who mean the most to you don’t care,” Kent guesses. “So it shouldn’t matter to you what the rest of the world thinks.”

“It won’t matter,” Jack says. “I think I’ll finally be able to feel like myself no matter where I am. No more hiding this part of me. I can’t wait, Kenny.”

“I’m happy for you, Zimms.”

“Have you ever thought about coming out?” Jack asks.

“Yeah, a lot, but I haven’t been in a serious relationship so it’s never felt urgent,” Kent answers.

“Ah, that makes sense, I guess,” Jack says. “I gotta go, dinner’s ready, but I’ll call you later, yeah?”

“Yeah, good luck, man,” Kent says.

Kent thinks about that conversation for seven days before deciding to come out to his team. Even though it’s never been urgent, he doesn’t think Jack should be going through all of this alone in the spotlight, especially when he’s not the only one. Kent would also like to finally pick up without having to go through a whole checklist to ensure anonymity. 

Kent comes out to a few guys on the team first, then the whole team, and then to the public. Management’s already known since he was drafted. He was scared to tell them back then, but he knew he was an asset to Vegas and that they’d have to deal with it or send him to a team that would. It went a lot better than he pictured it would.

He tells Abes, Rother, and Coals, the boys who have been with him practically from the beginning. He tells them when they’re over at Killer’s one night for dinner. Killer insisted he be there for it, just in case, but he wasn’t really needed. They all took it well, like he figured they would. 

“Just wish you would’ve told us sooner,” Coals says.

“Yeah, man,” Rother agrees. “I wouldn’t have tried to hook you up with so many chicks.”

“Oh, dude! My brother-in-law is gay, I think you’ve met him before, right?” Abes asks. “Want me to get you his number?”

Kent blushes profusely. “I uh-I already have it.”

“Ah, been there, done that?” Coals asks.

“Twice,” Kent says, awkwardly.

Coals and Rother laugh and hold out there hands for congratulatory fist bumps. Abes sits there with his mouth gaping wide.

“But-when? How?” Abes asks, confused.

“Don’t worry about it, Abes,” Kent answers. “It was a two time thing, he’s not really my type.”

Kent recites the same speech he gave them to the team a few days later. He’s in the locker room with all three of them standing behind him in support as he tells the rest of the Aces he’s gay and that he plans on coming out soon.

He purposefully avoids any and all eye contact with Dillon. He’s scared to see his reaction. Kent doesn’t think Dillon will be a dick about it, but you never know with some people. There’s also a small part of him that’s hoping Dillon might come out to him later. He doesn’t know anything for sure, but will all the looks that Dillon throws his way all the time, he thinks maybe there’s a chance.

It seems like no one on the team really cares about his announcement, some people even claim that they guessed when he didn’t pick up too often, either that or he was secretly dating a celebrity.

They head out to practice after his announcement and most of the guys treat him the same. There’s a few who treat him a little differently, but he figures it’ll just take time for them to come around. 

There’s also Dillon who glares at him every chance he gets. Kent tries to ignore the piercing looks that are thrown his way by him until the end of practice. 

By the time Kent is back from his shower, Dillon’s already dressed and about to head out. Kent dresses haphazardly and rushes after him. It’s not like Dillon can leave without him, unless he calls an Uber or gets a ride with someone else. Since they live in the same building, they carpool together and today was Kent’s turn to drive.

As he walks across the parking lot to his car, he sees Dillon leaning against the passenger door.

“Jonesy,” Kent says walking over to him.

Dillon glances at him with an irritated look. “What?”

“Why are you being such a dick?” Kent asks.

“I’m being a dick?” Dillon asks, incredulously. “You’re the one who didn’t tell me you were gay!”

“So what? You wouldn’t have hung out with me as much as you have if you knew?” Kent asks, annoyed at himself for thinking Dillon wouldn’t care. 

“Of course not!” Dillon shouts.

Kent looks at him with confusion. He doesn’t understand what the problem here is.

“Why did you tell me with the team? I know you’re close with Coals, Rother, and Abes, but I thought you were just as close with me, I guess that’s not the case,” Dillon huffs.

“I-it’s not like that. I didn’t tell you because you’re basically my best friend, and I was scared of what your reaction would be,” Kent admits. He’s standing a few feet away from Dillon and has his eyes trained on the ground as he speaks. “We’re so close that I was afraid of what you would say, I just didn’t want to get hurt or lose our friendship. I know that makes me a coward, but I just couldn’t do it.”

Dillon closes the space between them and grabs Kent’s chin in his hand. He tilts it up, forcing him to make eye contact. “You’re not a coward, Kenny,” he says, softly. “Jesus, what you just did, what you’re going to do? You’re so brave.”

Kent smiles faintly. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, yes,” Dillon answers as he pulls him into a hug. “I’m sorry for overacting I just thought maybe you didn’t trust me.”

“I do trust you, I-”

“I know, I get it now,” Dillon interrupts as he tightens his arms around Kent. “I’m really proud of you, Kenny.”

Kent feels relief flood through him, this was the one person he couldn’t handle giving up. “Thank you.”

When they pull apart from the hug, they share a lasting look that Dillon ends by ruffling Kent’s hair.

“Wanna come over?” Dillon asks. “I’ve got a whole bunch of Chopped’s saved up on my DVR.”

“Don’t even gotta ask, man,” Kent answers as he unlocks the car and they both get in.

He tries to ignore the empty feeling in his stomach that grows when he realizes that Dillon didn’t mention anything about his own sexual preferences. That was as good as time as any to say ‘me too.’

*

There’s a mistletoe hanging over the entrance of the kitchen in Rother’s house that Kent tries to actively avoid. The entire team and their families are over at his place for the annual team holiday party.

Kent publicly came out about two weeks prior and everything been going okay. He was thinking of waiting until the off season, but he figured it didn’t matter in the end. 

He’s avoiding getting caught under the mistletoe because it’d be an awkward situation for everyone involved. He’s also got a sneaking suspicion that some of his teammates know about his thing for Dillon, so the mistletoe can only spell disaster.

Killer and Sasha are at the party. Kent hasn’t seen them since the dinner where he came out to a few of the guys. Since then, they’ve gone on a cruise and visited Sasha’s family in Maine. 

Kent’s sitting with Killer in the corner of the living room, catching each other up on their lives, when Dillon drops down on the arm rest of the couch Kent is sitting on. 

Killer raises an eyebrow at Kent from where he’s sitting on a chair that he’d dragged over earlier. 

After some more catching up, Killer tries to include Dillon into their conversation. “How’s Parse treating you?”

Dillon laughs and clamps a hand on Kent’s shoulder. “This guy?” Dillon asks as he squeezes his shoulder. “He treats me like shit, worst captain in the NHL.”

Killer laughs and launches into a story of how uncomfortable Kent was with his captaincy in the beginning. 

Dillon leaves his hand on Kent’s shoulder and eventually stretches his pinkie out past his shirt so that it’s touching the skin on Kent’s neck and starts rubbing at it. This goes unnoticed by Kent until Dillon leaves and he suddenly feels cold where his hand used to be. He instantly misses his presence.

“What’s up with you two?” Killer asks, narrowing his eyes.

“Nothing?”

“I know something when I see it, and that,” he says nodding at Kent’s shoulder, “was definitely something.”

“Well it’s nothing, Killer,” Kent hisses.

“For now, probably.”

Kent rolls his eyes. 

“I’m not going to lecture you about getting involved with a teammate–” Killer starts.

“Then don’t,” Kent cuts in quickly.

“–But I just want to say, be careful, think about your career and what it means but also think about putting yourself out there.”

“What?” Kent asks, curious.

“You haven’t had a serious boyfriend since I’ve known you, Kenny. You’re almost 28, don’t you want to settle down one day?”

“Yeah, one day. Doesn’t mean now, and doesn’t mean with Dillon Jones!”

“Why not?” Killer asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“He’s not gay or bi or whatever,” Kent mumbles.

“How do you know?”

“I don’t, but let’s not got there okay?” Kent asks. “I don’t want to think about it anytime soon, hockey first, right?”

“Right, hockey first,” Killer says, nodding. “But what happens when hockey is over?”

“Then the first thing I’ll do is ask Jonesy out on a date, alright?”

“I’ll be dead by the time you retire, Parse,” Killer says through laughter.

Kent cracks a smile at that. He doesn’t think he could have one of those long careers with the injuries he’s taken, but it’d be nice if he could.

“Do me a favor?” Killer asks. “Give love a chance, it’s not as painful as you think. One bad experience doesn’t define the word.”

Kent shrugs. He knows what he had with Jack wasn’t really love, it was lust and infatuation. But with the career he’s chosen, he doesn’t think he gets to have love. 

“Also, fetch me a beer will ya?” Killer asks.

Kent groans but obeys and heads over to the kitchen. He thinks about what Killer said and realizes that maybe he can have love. Most of the players on his team are married with kids and they play the same game as Kent, efficiently at that. There just has to be a balance of hockey and love. As he’s thinking this, he practically crashes into Dillon who is he heading out of the kitchen.

“Whoa there, bud.” Dillon says, side stepping him.

“Mistletoe!” Killer yells from across the room.

Everyone quiets down and looks over in their direction.

Kent quickly glances at Dillon’s face. He looks like a cross between amused and shy. Oh wait, now he’s blushing. It’s such an odd look on him considering how tough he always looks on the ice and how his beard takes up half of his face.

Kent ignores the hollering behind him and puts on a brave face. He leans over and pecks Dillon on the cheek.

Dillon smiles and his blush darkens.

“ON THE LIPS!” people start chanting, loudly.

Kent rolls his eyes and turns around to flip everyone off. He turns back around and smiles apologetically at Dillon before walking past him, into the kitchen.

There’s a round of boos and then cheers again from everyone as Dillon tugs Kent back with a hand around his waist and pulls him into a chaste kiss.

It’s a quick and fleeting kiss, but it leaves Kent’s lips tingling and his heart beating tenfold.

Dillon pulls away and laughs as everyone continues clapping and yelling. 

“Merry Christmas, Kenny,” he whispers into Kent’s ear.

*

The Aces play in Providence in the beginning of February and Jack invites Kent out to dinner with Eric. 

He’s dreading it and tells Dillon this who cautiously asks if it’s because he still has feelings for Jack. He’d told Dillon about his tryst with Jack because he felt like it was an important part of his life and he wanted to share it, Dillon had listened with no judgement.

“After ten years? Fuck no.” Kent answers. “I’m not jealous of Bittle. I guess I’m just jealous of what they have together.”

Kent’s sprawled out on his hotel bed, trying to avoid looking over at Dillon who had just come out of the shower, dripping wet with nothing but a towel on. 

According to Kent’s contract, he could technically get a room all to himself, but he thinks that would make him feel too cut off from the team. Kent had previously been road roommates with Killer, but with his timely retirement, he’s now roommates with this stupid, bearded, long haired, blue eyed, attractive man.

“Do you want me to tag along, maybe be a buffer?” Dillon asks.

Kent risks a glance and of course he looks when Dillon’s pulling his boxers up over his ass, his round, thick ass.

Kent knows it’s a terrible idea but agrees anyway, he doesn’t think he can ever say no to Dillon and his stupid beautiful face.

Fuck, he needs to get laid.

Dinner is awkward at first but Dillon is great at making everyone feel comfortable. He tells a few stories from his time in college which gets Jack and Eric’s attention. They laugh and rant about frats for a solid twenty minutes. Kent doesn’t mind not participating in the conversation, as fearful as he was of having these worlds collide, he likes it. He likes how two important people in his life are actually getting along.

When they’re leaving, Jack pulls Kent to the side for a hug as Eric retrieves the car from the parking lot.

“It’s great to see you so happy, Jack,” Kent says, smiling as he pulls away.

“It’s nice to see you happy too,” Jack says as he glances over at Dillon who is standing off to the side trying to hail a cab.

“Oh, no! We’re not-” Kent stammers. “It’s not like that.”

“No?” Jack asks with a smirk. “Because he sure likes to stare at you a lot.”

“That’s just a quirk of his, trust me it’s not like that,” Kent says, trying to keep his voice low.

“Then why is he glaring at me right now?” Jack asks.

Kent rolls his eyes. “Maybe he just doesn’t like you, ever think of that?” Kent knows that’s not true. Dillon confided in him earlier that he was excited to meet Jack since Bad Bob had been his idol as a kid.

“So if I do this,” Jack says as he leans closer and kisses Kent’s cheek. “He won’t glare harder?”

Before Kent has a chance to respond, he feels a tap on his shoulder. “I got a cab,” Dillon says, clearly impatient. “C’mon, it’s cold.”

Jack starts snickering as Bittle pulls up to the curb. “Ready, babe?” he asks, rolling down the window.

“Yeah, Bits, let’s go,” Jack says as he starts walking towards the passenger door. “Don’t overthink it, Kenny. Trust me.”

Kent and Dillon wave goodbye as they drive away.

“Ready, babe?” Dillon asks Kent jokingly.

“Yeah, Jonesy, let’s go,” Kent says playing along even though his heart’s beating so loudly that he’s sure Dillon can hear it.

*

Kent gets the wedding invitation in the mail and immediately calls Jack.

“You’re getting married?” he practically shouts into the phone.

“Yeah, we’re engaged,” Jack answers.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Things were kinda hectic,” Jack says. “Besides, the media knows, it was all over the news. I didn’t think I had to call you personally and tell you.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Kent says. “Y’know because I’ve been a little busy in the playoffs.” 

Jack lets out a chuckle. “You are coming, right?”

“Sure. Unless it falls on my cup day, then I think I’ll pass,” Kent answers with a smirk.

“Getting cocky are we now?” Bittle asks. Kent’s not surprised that he’s probably on speaker phone.

“You know it, Bits.” 

There’s a knock on his door. “Hey, guys, congrats, really. I gotta go though, we’ll talk later?” he asks, getting up from the couch.

“Thanks, Kenny.”

Kent hangs up the phone and opens his door to see Dillon.

“Did you get one?” Dillon asks, shoving something into Kent’s face and shaking it around. Kent gets a grip on Dillon’s wrist and slows down his movements, it’s a wedding invitation.

“Obviously, they’re my friends,” Kent responds. He retreats back into his living room, letting Dillon follow and close the door behind him.

“Why did I get one?” Dillon asks, sitting down next to him. He tucks a lock of his unruly long hair behind his ear.

Kent sighs. “They met you at that dinner a few months ago, they liked you.”

Dillon laughs. “Yeah, right. So what, they’re just handing out invitations to everyone they’ve ever met and liked?”

“I don’t know, maybe it’s because of us, okay?” Kent blurts out. He didn’t know how to have this conversation before and certainly doesn’t know how to have it now. After Killer’s talk during the holiday party and then Jack’s observations, he was going to do something about his thing for Dillon. He just kept pushing it off and now that playoffs have started, he wanted to wait until after their season was over. Both of them don’t need any distractions; they have a Cup to win. 

“What?” Dillon asks, with a blank stare.

“I think they think that we’re a thing,” Kent answers.

“Why would they think that?” Dillon questions, backing away slightly from Kent. Great, he’s spooked now.

If there’s one thing people know about Kent, it’s that he doesn’t have a filter. “Maybe because you send me mixed signals? You’re handsy and always flirt with me? You haven’t picked up in ages? You stare at me when you think I’m not looking, like all the time. Do you want me to go on?” Kent asks, frustrated. 

“I don’t-I’m not-”

“You’re not gay,” Kent finishes the sentence for him.

“No, I-” Dillon cuts himself off and takes a deep breath. He shuffles closer to Kent.

“I’m bi,” Dillon mumbles. 

Kent blinks at him, unsure of what to say or think. He’s not completely surprised, but the ease of admission is what’s shocking.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kent asks, ignoring the thought in the back of his mind that it’s possible Dillon does actually like him.

“I wanted to, but then you came out and I don’t know,” Dillon grumbles. “You had a lot on your mind then, I didn’t want to complicate things.”

Kent lets out a laugh. “You wouldn’t have complicated things. It would have been the opposite.”

“Sorry. I want to come out too, but I don’t think that’s smart, what with us being on the same team and all,” Dillon says, shrugging.

“Don’t let that stop you. Who cares what people will say? If you want to come out, come out,” Kent says. It is as simple as it sounds, the aftermath might not be but coming out was one of the easiest things he’s done in his life. The anxiety and stress of hiding that piece of him over the years was the actual difficult part.

“Maybe,” Dillon whispers.

A silence falls over them as they settle into the couch. The wedding invitation is still in Dillon’s hand and it catches Kent’s eye.

“So, are you gonna go?” Kent asks, gesturing to the invitation.

“Yeah, I think so. You?”

“Yeah, probably,” Kent replies. “Wanna go together?”

“Well, I’m assuming we will,” Dillon answers, warily.

“No, I mean as a date,” Kent clarifies, he can feel himself start to blush. He can’t remember the last time he asked someone out.

Dillon barks out a laugh, that hits Kent low in his guy.

“I didn’t think it was funny,” Kent grumbles.

“No, no,” Dillon says, trying to calm himself. “It’s just that, you want our first date to be at the wedding of your ex-boyfriend?”

Kent smiles and rolls his eyes. “Who said first date? If we start now, we can probably get a couple dozen in before the wedding.”

Dillon grins at him and leans closer. “I like the way you think, Mr. Parson.”

Kent closes the space between them. He kisses Dillon and runs a hand through his hair, something he’s imagined doing since he laid eyes on the guy. And of course, it’s as soft as he thought it would be. Dillon groans at the touch and arcs into Kent’s chest. His beard rubs against Kent’s lips in the most delicious way.

Kent smiles against Dillon’s lips thinking, this is what he’s wanted for months. He just didn’t think it would be so easy.

* 

It’s not easy.

The Aces almost sweep the Kings in the first round, winning 4-1, so they have a whole week off before the rest of the series are finished.

Kent and Dillon go on their first official date on a Friday night. 

Kent goes for more of the casual look and wears a pair of jeans and a nice shirt. Dillon already knows him so well, there’s no point in dressing up to impress him. Dillon’s seen Kent at his worst: bleary eyed at seven in the morning in a random hotel in Alberta.

There’s a knock on his door and Kent rushes to grab his wallet and keys before opening it up. Dillon’s wearing slacks and a blue button up shirt. Kent’s jaw drops slightly at the sight. 

Dillon shuffles on his feet a little and runs a hand through his hair. “I overdressed didn’t I?”

Kent shakes his head.

“This is embarrassing, I’m gonna go change really quick,” he mutters as he turns to walk towards the elevators.

Kent stops him with a hand on his shoulder. “You look handsome,” he says with a smile.

Dillon rolls his eyes and returns the smile. “You do too.”

Kent really wants to kiss that stupid smile off of his face.

So he does. He leans in and meets Dillon half way. Their lips slide against one another in a gentle kiss.

Kent made reservations at a steakhouse. They’ve never been there before, but it’s pretty popular in town so he figured now would be a good a time as any to go.

Once they get settled at their table, their conversation becomes stilted. They just had practice the other day and hung out yesterday with a few other guys. There’s not much that’s happened since then that they have to catch each other up on.

Kent feels awkward as he tries to think of something to say. He’s so nervous, he just wants the night to go well.

“How’s the family doing?” Kent asks after they sit in a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.

“Good,” Dillon answers. “My parents are probably going to come down later on in the playoffs. What about yours?”

“Same, I guess,” Kent says. “Maybe not until we actually make it to the finals though, I hate when they’re around to see me lose.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Dillon says.

The waitress comes for their order and when she leaves, there’s another few minutes of silence before Dillon speaks up.

“You think we’re gonna get the Oilers next?”

“Probably, but you never really know,” Kent answers.

“Yeah, but I’d prefer them over the Coyotes,” Dillon says with a shrug. “Not that I don’t wanna see my friends succeed, but I don’t want to face them. They know my game too well.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. It’d be tough to win against them anyway, they’re good this year.”

They lapse into silence again. Hockey talk is Kent’s usual go-to, but it doesn’t work with Dillon because he sees him almost every day and they’ve basically had this same conversation before. 

Kent’s thankful when the waitress arrives with their food. It gives them an excuse not to talk and the silence becomes acceptable. 

He tries to think about what they usually talk about when they hang out. He doesn’t ever feel like they run out of things to say, but he can’t remember. It always feels so natural being around Dillon, but not right now, this feels forced and awkward. He should not be feeling like this on a date with his best friend, a stranger maybe, but not his best friend.

The rest of the dinner continues with attempts at conversation followed by uncomfortable lapses of silence.

After they argue over paying the bill – Kent wins – they head back home.

Dillon gets out of the elevator on Kent’s floor and walks him to the door. 

Kent’s palms are sweating and he keeps wiping them against his jeans. He doesn’t know where things lie between them. The date was a disaster, even though he really wanted things to work out for them.

“Listen,” Dillon starts. “I had fun tonight.”

“Did you?” Kent asks, raising an eyebrow.

Dillon winces. “Kinda? I don’t know, Kenny. It was weird, I didn’t know what to say,” he admits.

Well, at least they’re on the same page. 

“Me neither, what do we usually talk about?”

“I don’t know, stupid shit,” Dillon says with a light chuckle.

“I’m sorry, it’s not how I imagined it going.”

“Don’t apologize, it’s not your fault,” Dillon says. “Maybe we’re better off as just friends?”

Kent’s stomach rolls to his feet. He didn’t think Dillon was going to say that. He was thinking maybe they would push it off until after playoffs or maybe just give it another shot when they’re not as nervous.

“Is that what you want?” Kent asks.

Dillon shrugs, “I don’t know. Kissing you was nice, really nice, but dating? Maybe we aren’t meant to?”

Kent tries to think about it logically. No matter how attractive he finds Dillon and how much he wants to get all up on that, maybe they aren’t compatible. Maybe he’s just been letting his hormones get the best of him and confusing friendship with something more. This bad date might have been a blessing in disguise, dating a teammate is a stupid idea anyway.

“Maybe it’s a good thing we went on the date now and didn’t wait until after playoffs,” Dillon says.

“What do you mean?”

“It would have hurt more if we waited and then found out later,” Dillon explains.

Kent gives him a weak smile and nods his head in agreement even though he knows it’s already too late for him. 

“So just friends?” Dillon asks.

“Yeah,” Kent says. He swallows. “Just friends.”

Dillon leans in to kiss him on the cheek. “I’ll see you Sunday for practice? My turn to drive, right?”

Kent nods as a reply. He doesn’t trust his voice right now. He doesn’t understand how it went so wrong. That was probably one of the worst dates he’s ever been on and it was with his best friend, with a person he has never had trouble talking to before.

He didn’t think the night would end like this. After Dillon came out to him and they kissed, Kent thought maybe, finally. But nope, it’s never that easy.

*

The Aces end up playing the Oilers the next round. They’re down 2-1 in the series and have an extra off day before the next game. 

Kent’s sitting at Dillon’s breakfast bar waiting for breakfast to be served. They had a bet before their last game, if one of them scored, the other owed them breakfast. Kent scored, so he’s come to collect. It was a dumb bet to place on Dillon’s part. He’s a defensemen, it’s not likely he would have scored. Maybe it was all just a way for Dillon to motivate Kent in which case, it worked.

Dillon slides an omelet onto a plate of bacon and places it in front of Kent. “Eat up.”

“Smells good,” Kent says, digging in. “Thanks.”

Since their failed date, things between them have been back to normal. They haven’t been avoiding one another or been awkward which Kent is thankful for. He’s glad they could behave like adults about the situation and not let their feelings come in the way of hockey or their friendship.

But that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t want to jump Dillon every time he so much as smiles in Kent’s direction. 

Dillon sits down on the stool next to him and starts eating too. He’s still got sleep in his eyes and his hair is disheveled. He’s wearing a faded Nike shirt and basketball shorts that are barely holding together. Unfortunately for Kent, it’s an attractive look on him. He really needs to get laid, this is getting ridiculous.

“Mrs. Franklin was hardcore eyeing me when I came over today,” Kent says, remembering the looks the old lady next door to Dillon kept giving him as he knocked on his door.

“Yeah, she’s mentioned something before.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, something about how you’re not good enough for me,” Dillon says, laughing.

“Shut up,” Kent says. “She didn’t say that.”

“Nah, she doesn’t even know we’re players. She does think we’re dating though. She muttered something the other day about how she doesn’t understand why we’re not living together.”

Kent laughs. “She’s probably the only one who doesn’t know. You get any weird signs lately?”

“Oh yeah, wait,” Dillon says as he puts his fork down and runs into his bedroom. He comes out with a poster that reads, “DRILL THE SHIT OUT OF THEM” in red with cut out pictures of some Oilers players and X’s over their faces. 

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Kent says.

“Yeah, I thought so,” Dillon laughs. He joins Kent back at the counter. “What about you? Anything weird?”

“Nah, just a lot of ‘I love yous’ and ‘come visit apartment blah blah.’”

“Hm, no one seems to want to hang out with me,” Dillon says, frowning.

“That’s because you’re scary, Jonesy,” Kent explains. “I’m friendly. People want to be my friend.”

“They’re stupid,” Dillon comments. “They don’t know what they’re getting themselves into.”

Kent kicks him in the shin and shovels some more bacon into his mouth.

After breakfast, they watch some TV while their bodies digest their breakfast and then they visit the building gym to get some exercise in. After that, they go over to Kent’s for smoothies and a light lunch and settle down to watch some game tape.

Dillon’s mom FaceTime’s him while they’re watching the Oilers. 

“Hi ma,” Dillon says after he accepts the call.

“Hi honey, oh look at that beard, it’s disgusting!” Mrs. Jones gasps.

Kent tries to stifle laughter. Dillon’s usual clean cut beard as grown into a thick patch of hair that takes up half of his face.

“It’s not disgusting mom,” Dillon says. “I’ll have you know that some people find it attractive.”

“Dillon, sweetheart, those people are lying to you,” Mrs. Jones says. “And who’s that you’re with?”

“It’s Kenny,” Dillon says, turning his phone so she can see him.

Kent waves. “Hi Mrs. Jones.”

“Kenny, that goal of yours the other night was amazing!”

“Oh stop, I’m blushing,” Kent jokes. “Thank you.”

“Make sure my son shaves off that beard of his the second you win that Cup, alright?” Mrs. Jones asks.

“Won’t you be here?” Dillon asks, frowning.

“Yes, but I know how you players get when you win. I’ve seen those documentaries. You don’t stop drinking for days. I will be steering clear of you until you’re sober.”

“It’s not that bad, Mrs. Jones,” Kent says. “Also, no promises on making him shave it.”

“And why is that?” she asks.

“I like it,” Kent says, smirking. “I’m afraid I’m one of those people who find it attractive.”

Dillon chokes on nothing and scrambles to say bye to his mother before hanging up. 

“You’re a dick,” he says, throwing a pillow at Kent.

“I’m just speaking the truth,” Kent says, shielding himself from anymore pillows.

“Now she’s going to ask me, like, a million questions about you,” Dillon groans.

“She knows?” Kent asks. “About you?”

“Yeah, I told them I was bi in high school,” Dillon replies. “Which is why now she’ll be convinced we’re together.”

“Deal with it,” Kent says as he tosses a pillow back in Dillon’s direction. He stands and makes his way into the kitchen.

“What do you wanna eat for dinner?” he shouts from the kitchen.

Dillon shuffles into the kitchen after him, scratching his stomach. “Dunno, wanna make something?”

“Let’s finally try that pasta recipe we’ve been meaning to,” Kent suggests.

“You got the stuff for it?” Dillon asks, eyeing his kitchen.

“Think so, pull up the recipe on your phone, I’ll check.”

Kent pulls out ingredients from his fridge and pantry as Dillon calls them out. They start following the directions and make dinner together. They’re both mediocre cooks so it’s a leveled playing field.

Kent’s stirring the sauce sometime later when Dillon grunts behind him.

“What?” he asks, turning around.

“I still think it needs more salt,” Dillon says.

“No it doesn’t,” Kent sighs. “When we add the cheese it’ll be plenty salty.”

“Nope,” Dillon says, bumping hips with Kent. He tries to take the spatula out of Kent’s hand. “Lemme take over sauce duty.”

“No fucking way, you weirdo,” Kent says, holding the spatula tight to his chest.

Dillon tries to pry it out of his hands. They fight over it until they’re chest to chest and staring at each other. The spatula’s held up above them in Kent’s hand. Kent’s eyes glance down to Dillon’s lips, and Dillon must notice because at that moment, he swipes his tongue over them. Kent desperately wants to kiss him, so he leans in a little closer, titling his head to the side when he suddenly smells something burning.

Dillon immediately lets go of him and rushes over to the oven. “Fuck,” he mutters as he pulls out burnt garlic bread.

“It’s alright, we just won’t have garlic bread then,” Kent says.

“Yeah, I guess we won’t,” Dillon mumbles.

They eat dinner while watching old DVRed episodes of Chopped. They keep watching even after they’ve eaten.

They’re on their second beers when Kent suddenly itches to touch Dillon. Maybe the date was bad, but kissing Dillon, that wasn’t bad at all. Their kiss on the same couch weeks ago was electric.

Kent decides to go for it. He slowly puts his beer down on his coffee table and does the same with Dillon’s, gently prying it from his hand.

“Wha-?” Dillon starts but stops once Kent shuffles closer to him on the couch. He watches with wide eyes as Kent cups his face with cold hands.

“Stop me if you don’t want this,” Kent murmurs against Dillon’s lips. He pauses to give Dillon a chance to say something. 

Dillon doesn’t say anything. Instead, he presses his lips firmly against Kent’s. Kent opens his mouth up for Dillon, allowing him to lick his way around the inside of his mouth.

Dillon groans and wraps his arms around Kent. He tugs him into his lap and presses a kiss into his neck.

Kent hums in response and tilts his head further back to give Dillon better access.

Dillon trails kisses over his neck and sucks on his skin. He settles on a spot right under Kent’s ear and bites down on the skin. Kent shudders and grabs at Dillon’s arms to steady himself. Dillon releases the flesh from his teeth and licks at the deep marks he leaves behind. He kisses the spot twice before leaning up to kiss Kent on the lips again.

The kiss is sweet and soft, their lips touch and hold. Dillon pulls Kent flush to his chest with hands on his back and grinds their hardening cocks against one another. Kent lets himself be malleable and opens up for Dillon. Tongues start swooping in and out of mouths, licking and savoring.

Dillon groans and moves his hands down to Kent’s waist. He tucks his hands under his shirt and settles them over the dimples above his ass. He grabs at the flesh in his hands, massaging the skin.

Kent whines in pleasure and starts grinding his dick harder into Dillon’s. “Bedroom,” Kent says, panting and pulling away.

He practically runs to his room, shucks all of his clothes, flops onto his bed, and waits for Dillon. 

Dillon casually strolls into his room as if he’s about to go get a cup of coffee and not get laid. Somewhere during his walk from the living room to Kent’s bedroom, he’s lost his shirt.

“Take these off,” Kent says, sitting up and grabbing at Dillon’s shorts when he enters the room.

Dillon shoves his hands away. “Not yet, be patient, Parse.”

Kent groans in annoyance and lies back down.

Dillon lowers himself onto the bed and covers Kent with his body. They trade kisses for a while, but Kent starts to get impatient and arches his body up to meet Dillon’s clothed dick for friction.

Dillon laughs and puts a hand on Kent’s chest to ground him.

“You need it that bad, eh?” Dillon asks, kissing Kent’s chest.

“Need you that bad,” Kent responds, threading his fingers through Dillon’s long hair.

Dillon kisses Kent’s nipple and licks at. He tongues at the flesh and sucks it into his teeth, biting hard like he did before to his neck.

Kent moans and tugs on Dillon’s hair.

Dillon releases the nipple from his mouth and moves on to the other one, giving it the same attention he gave to the first one.

Kent already feels like he’s going to lose it. It’s been so long since he’s had sex, he feels overwhelmed with pleasure already.

“Please, Dill,” he cries.

Dillon kisses both nipples before kissing down Kent’s chest. When he reaches Kent’s dick, he looks up at Kent and raises his eyebrows as if to ask if Kent’s sure. Kent nods his head so fast that he feels like he might get whiplash. Dillon chuckles and takes a hold of Kent’s dick in his hand. Kent groans at the touch.

Dillon pumps Kent’s cock a few times, and then lifts it up to his mouth. He kisses the tip and starts licking at it. He takes his time sucking the head of Kent’s cock and slowly makes his way down to the rest of it.

Kent relishes at the feel of Dillon’s wet, hot mouth and it takes everything in him not to thrust into it.

“D-Dill? If you want to get your dick in me, you might want to hurry it up down there, bud,” Kent says, voice sounding strained.

Dillon responds by taking all of his cock into his mouth, pulling it out, and sucking it back in. He does this a few times and each time Kent jerks. Dillon finally relents and slowly pulls off of his cock, letting it bounce back up to his chest.

He moves up and gives Kent a chaste kiss. “Lube and condoms?” he asks.

Kent doesn’t trust his voice so he points towards the drawer that holds them. Dillon reaches over and pulls them out. “Turn around, Kenny,” he says.

Kent does what he’s told and hears Dillon’s shorts come off, finally. He waits, impatiently, as Dillon rolls on a condom and squeezes some lube onto his hand.

Something cold and wet brushes over Kent’s hole, causing him to shudder in response. Dillon pushes a finger inside him; it feels weird, but not entirely painful. He keeps pressing the finger deeper and deeper into Kent and starts pushing around inside. Kent grabs a hold of his pillow and tucks it under his arms.

“Add another,” Kent breathes out. He needs to feel more.

Dillon adds a second finger and starts scissoring them, making room for another.

Soon, Dillon has three fingers deep inside his ass, pushing in and out at a gentle pace. Kent feels an overwhelming sensation and knows he won’t be able to last long. The feeling of something inside him is painful in the best way.

“Fuck me,” Kent says, turning around to get a look at Dillon. Dillon leans up to kiss him and pulls out his fingers. Kent almost cries at the loss of them.

“Turn back around. I want to see you, Kenny,” Dillon says, breathing hard. Kent turns onto his back so that he’s facing Dillon and spreads his legs. He watches Dillon lather his dick with lube and lower it down to Kent’s ass.

“Ready?” Dillon asks, the tip of his cock catching on Kent’s hole.

“Yeah,” Kent says.

Dillon gently guides his dick inside him, stopping when he meets resistance.

“Is it too much? Do you want me to pull out?” Dillon asks when he sees Kent wince.

“No!” Kent shouts. “No, j-just hold on a second. Let me adjust.” He tries to relax himself. “Okay.”

Dillon slips further inside Kent and gasps. “Fuck, Kenny. So tight, ah and hot,” Dillon says pushing into him.

Kent reaches down to palm his own dick with a hand.

Dillon thrusts into him while he rests his hands on either side of Kent’s head. Kent reaches out with his free hand and laces his fingers with Dillon’s. After Dillon watches his own cock disappear into Kent’s ass, he lifts his gaze up to meet Kent’s.

He leans down as Kent arches up to meet his lips, their teeth clash and tongues tangle.

Dillon speeds up his thrusts, each push inside brings Kent a new wave of pleasure. Dillon knocks Kent’s hand away from his cock and replaces it with his own. He strokes it in line with his thrusts.

“I’m gonna come, ‘m so close,” Kent cries out.

“Come, Kenny.”

Kent groans and releases himself in Dillon’s hand. Spurts of white, hot come shoot all over his chest. Dillon lets go of his dick and rubs his thumb at the come that landed on Kent’s nipple. He leans down and laps it up with his tongue.

“I’m-almost, almost,” Dillon says, groaning.

He thrusts two more times into Kent and comes. He moans in pleasure and collapses on top of him. He tucks his face into Kent’s neck and kisses it. He pulls out, carefully removes the condom, and tosses it into the trash.

When he returns to bed, Kent manhandles him and throws his leg over his hips. Dillon’s loses one hand in Kent’s hair and rests the other on his ass as they both drift off into sleep.

*

Kent slowly blinks awake the next morning to see he’s alone in bed.

“Jonesy?” Kent calls out to his apartment. “Dillon?”

He pads out to check all the rooms and finds nothing. His mind keeps flashing back to last night, Dillon hands and mouth on him, the way he felt inside Kent, and now he’s gone.

He checks his phone and sees a few messages but none from Dillon. His stomach sinks at the implication. He didn’t even have the decency to leave a fucking note. Kent texts him instead, he’s never been one to avoid confrontation.

Kent  
that was cold of you

Jonesy  
sorry I just had to think

Kent  
it was just sex, Jonesy  
nothing to think about

Jonesy  
right.

The period at the end of his text makes Kent assume fetal position and pull his covers over him.

*

At practice the next day, Dillon avoids him at all costs. Kent gets the message loud and clear: stay away.

They’re awkward around each other but thankfully Kent has hockey to focus on. He’s the captain and he makes sure that this isn’t something that’s going to affect his or their hockey. They start to talk to each other enough at practice, mostly on ice, that no one really picks up on anything.

The Aces make it to the Western Conference Finals against Nashville but end up losing the series 4-2. It shouldn’t be that big of a crushing loss, they should be happy they even got as far as they did with the team they have. They had so many problems going into the playoffs, Abes’ backup wasn’t all that great, defense looked shaky, and their powerplay was shit. So going out in the WCF is good. 

It’s not good enough for Kent. It’s a loss that leads everyone in the locker room saying ‘next year’ or ‘look how well we did with this team, imagine how good we’ll be once things get fixed over the offseason.’ But Kent doesn’t want next year, he wants now. Winning the Stanley Cup was like getting high for Kent, and he’s been chasing that high for years. It always seems to slip right through his fingers.

A few days later, most of the guys are back to clean out their lockers and meet the media for a few questions. It’s a little like the last day of school, looking around and realizing you might not see some of these people again, realizing it won’t ever be the same. It’s also the last thing he has to do officially for the season, so he books it home and starts packing.

He plans to go back home to New York for a while, visit his family and friends. Maybe he’ll go on vacation somewhere, he could take his sister. He just wants to get out of Vegas as soon as possible.

There’s a knock on his door and he shoves a few socks into his suitcase before going to answer it.

It’s Dillon. He’s not sure he’s all that surprised even though he should be. It’s been two weeks since they had sex and things went south. He thought their friendship was done for, that there would be no going back because he’s the world’s biggest idiot and can’t keep his fucking hands to himself. 

“Hey,” he says, letting Dillon in.

“How’re you holding up?” Dillon asks. 

Kent laughs, almost painfully. “You sound like someone died. I’m fine.”

Dillon sighs as Kent walks towards his room to finish packing and eventually follows him.

“Listen, I know telling you ‘next year’ doesn’t mean shit, but hey, that’s all I got right now. We will be stronger and better. It just wasn’t our year, but you didn’t do anything wrong, we were great, they were just better,” Dillon says.

Kent watches as Dillon glances around his room and realizes they had sex here not fourteen days ago. He can’t tell if Dillon’s blushing, his bread’s still too thick, but he assumes so when he starts shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“I know,” Kent says. “Logically I know all that, but it still sucks. I’ll be fine with time.”

“Yeah, it won’t suck come October, eh?” Dillon asks. He looks uncomfortable, like he wants to sit but he’d rather die than touch Kent’s bed again.

Kent shoots him a look as he checks his closet one last time for anything he might have missed. Dillon laughs and finally sits on his bed.

Kent smiles, slowly. “Thanks for coming.”

Dillon returns the smile, because of course. “I heard Rother talking about how you always take it hard when the team gets knocked out. I figured you might need someone to talk sense into you.”

Kent walks over to him and holds out his arms. Dillon stands and walks into them. They hug for a long time, letting the season’s failures, personal and professional, wash over them.

When they pull away, they have another one of their lingering moments. Kent can’t go through this again.

“I want to try it again,” he blurts out.

“What?” Dillon asks, still inches away from his face.

“I was so fucking nervous on that date, Dill. Like, so nervous,” Kent admits.

“Me too,” Dillon winces. “I couldn’t sleep the night before, how lame is that?”

Kent laughs, “It’s not lame, it’s adorable.”

“It is lame because it was just you,” Dillon says, hands still on Kent’s back.

“I think we built it up in our heads too much so it ended up being awkward.”

“Yeah, talking to you is easy, we just overthought things that night. That day we had sex,” Dillon starts, clearing his throat in the middle. “Um, we spent that whole day together, I mean dinner was practically a date and I had fun.”

Kent nods in agreement. “I did too, that’s why I kissed you. I had so many feelings running through my head and I just missed your lips?”

“I missed yours too, Kenny. I felt so relieved when you did, I didn’t want to give up on us,” Dillon admits.

“Why did you say we’re better off as friends after the date then?” Kent asks, confused. He was under the impression that Dillon didn’t care as much about giving them a try as Kent did. That if it didn’t work out, it was no sweat off of Dillon’s back.

“I thought that’s what you were going to say after the date. I was just trying to beat you to the punch so I didn’t have to hear those words come out of your mouth,” Dillon says.

Kent smacks him in the back of the head.

“Ow, fuck,” Dillon says, rubbing his head.

“You’re a fucking idiot. That’s not what I would have said,” Kent says, narrowing his eyes.

“What?”

“I would’ve said we should give it another shot, but maybe wait until after the season was over.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh,” Kent mumbles. “Why did you leave in the morning?”

“I-I,” Dillon stutters and then groans. “I panicked, I didn’t know what it meant and I didn’t want to stick around and see regret on your face when you woke up.”

“I didn’t regret it!” Kent practically shouts as he wraps his arms around Dillon’s neck.

“You said it was just sex,” Dillon mumbles. “Nothing to think about.”

Kent sighs, they are terrible at communicating. “I only said that so you wouldn’t freak out. I thought you left because you didn’t want it to mean more. I thought you left because _you_ regretted things.”

“We’re really fucking bad at this, eh?” Dillon asks with a chuckle.

“We can be better,” Kent whispers, leaning in closer to him. “Let’s be better.”

“Okay, Kenny,” Dillon says against his lips. “Let’s be better.”

Kent pulls away before they kiss. “First, let’s shave.”

He drags him over to his bathroom and pulls out his shaving kit. Kent takes Dillon’s face in his hands and starts spreading shaving cream on him. There’s something oddly intimate about shaving someone else’s facial hair. Once Dillon’s done shaving Kent and he rinses his face, Dillon kisses him against the bathroom counter.

They kiss leisurely, sipping on each other’s lips as if they have all the time in the world.

*

The Zimmermann-Bittle wedding is quaint and beautiful, not that anybody expected anything else.

Kent and Dillon hold hands during the reception. Dillon isn’t out publicly, but at this point he doesn’t want to bother with an official statement until someone asks. The team knows they’re dating, Kent texted it out in their group chat weeks after they got together, and received positive replies along with a handful of chirps.

They’re on the dance floor when Jack asks to cut in and borrow Kent.

Dillon makes a disgruntled noise and nods, curtly. 

“So, is it still not like that?” Jack asks, nodding at Dillon who’s standing at the edge of the dance floor, looking lost.

“It’s like that, Zimms, definitely like that,” Kent says, laughing.

Jack smiles. “I’m glad.”

“Congrats, Jack. You got a real keeper,” Kent says as Bitty slow dances close by with the flower girl.

Jack sighs with fondness. “Yeah, I really did.”

“Gross, put that face away,” Kent says, shoving at Jack’s shoulder. “You two are so sickeningly sweet.”

“I’m gonna go steal him back,” Jack says, starting to detach from Kent. “Oh and tell your boyfriend to stop glaring at me. I’m a married man, he has nothing to worry about.”

Kent barks out a laugh. “Will do,” he says and starts to make his way back to Dillon.

“Hey,” Kent says in greeting. Dillon’s got a grumpy face on, one that would give grumpy cat a run for his money. “What?”

“What’d he want?” Dillon asks, almost growling.

“Why? Jealous?”

Dillon rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but then abruptly stops. “Okay, maybe a little. I just, I wish I knew what you were like back then, I wish I could share those moments with you instead of him.”

Kent laughs at the absurdity of it. “No you don’t. You don’t want to know what I was like. You would’ve hated me, I hated myself. I was the worst, Dill,” Kent explains. He’s not proud of who he was back then. “I’m happy you met me when you did, I’ve changed a lot.”

Dillon squints and thinks. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. I mean this is the Kent Parson I fell in love with.”

Kent blinks slowly as his mind parses through his words. “Yeah?”

Dillon’s only sporting a five o’clock shadow now, so Kent can clearly see his blush.

“Uh, yeah. Shit, I wanted it to be romantic when I said it. Zimmermann’s wedding is the worst place I could’ve picked.”

Kent giggles, actually giggles and wraps his hands around Dillon’s neck, pulling him closer. “I love you too.”

Their kiss is sloppy and halfhearted because they both can’t stop smiling long enough to slot their lips together.

**Author's Note:**

> so I posted the part where Dillon comes out and they kiss on my tumblr a while back and I got so much positive feedback and questions that I decided to go ahead and write a whole fic surrounding that one scene.
> 
> my [tumblr](http://liveinfurry.tumblr.com/)


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